Crossing the Seine

 Bon jour, mes amies,

I have a rule that when I come in the first thing I do--before taking off my shoes and contact lenses--is to have a glass of water.  It's easy to get dehydrated, especially with all the walking I do.  The water has been drunk, and I have divested myself of both shoes and contact lenses, so it's time to write my post so I can get it done before the bike race starts.

I washed my hair this morning, so I look pretty good.  Most French Women d'un certain age keep their hair very short, so I fit right in with my pixie cut, and short hair dries quickly so I was soon ready to go.

I crossed the Seine to the Rive Gauche, and crossed back rather obviously, and had a much better museum experience today.  I had a cool, sunny morning as I made my way down to the Pont Neuf.  It crosses the western end of the Ile de la Cite and the Gallent Vert, the famous statue of Henri IV who loved woman and plenty of them.  I strolled along the Seine once I got to the other side.  Nothing brings home the sheer size of the Louvre than viewing it from the other side of the river and walking as it goes on, and on, and on.  But I was headed to the d'Orsay.

Fortunately my museum of choice opens early, so I was able to do a through job of it walking there and back, and I'm home in good time.  I used my museum pass, and although I had no appointment I arrived just before opening, and I got in pretty quickly.  It's a popular place, I'm guessing only second to the Louvre, and there was a big crowd waiting, and a lot of people inside.  The d'Orsay is far smaller and less intimidating than the Louvre, and the air was far less frantic and it was a lot quieter, too.  I enjoyed my visit.  This is more like it, I said.

A special exhibition of the American Artist James Whistler was on offer.  I like his work and the paintings shown were a selection of his portraits, including his Arrangement in Gray and Black #1 otherwise known as Whistler's Mother.  Whistler regarded the work as among his finest and was fond of it and presumably of Mom as well, but he was bemused and irritated that people ignored his carefully created patterns of color and focused on the old lady.

The Impressionists and Post Impressionists is what everyone comes for, and d'Orsay has a collection of treasures.  I'm not going to make a list, but I have a lot of favorites among the Nineteenth Century artists including a couple you may not have heard of like Pierre Puvis de Chavanne and Camille Pissarro, but feel free to have a google.  Most people come looking for Monet and Manet, friends who despaired over being mistaken for each other because of the similarity of their names.  There's always a big crowd around Dejeuner sur l'herbe, but it's a big painting and easy to see.  All the big Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century names are here with with worthy examples of their works.

Now I need to decide where to go tomorrow.  I may finally have to take the metro.  But right now I'm engaged in apero.  What a lovely custom, and one I seldom get to follow back home.  I have my kir royale with some olives and almonds.  I like rose with dinner, and this time I'm going to finish off the Valencay. It's so good-- a rich and complex goat cheese.  The story is that Napoleon visited Tallyrand at his estate and was offered the cheese, but oh noes!  It was in the shape of a pyramid, and Nap had just been defeated in Egypt.  In a rage Nap decapitated the pyramid leaving the cheese with its characteristic shape.  I trim the charcoaled rind by the way.

A demain